Ohio improves childhood vaccination rates

New national data shows that more Ohio toddlers are being fully vaccinated per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations, although the state still lags behind other states in its vaccination rates (Source: “Report: Ohio childhood vaccination rate improving,” Columbus Dispatch, Aug. 27, 2015).

The percentage of Ohio children ages 19- to 35-month-olds who received all the shots the federal government suggests rose to 68.1 in 2014 compared with 61.7 the year prior, according to newly released data from the CDC. 

The national average for full vaccine coverage in 2014 was 71.6. Ohio landed in the bottom third of states. The highest coverage was in Maine at 84.7 percent and the lowest was in West Virginia at 63.4 percent.